Betrothal
by VioletSorceress
Summary: Tokka Week. This was, by far, the stupidest decision she had ever made and the worst day of her life. Attending someone else's engagement party, and the engagement party of the man she was still in love with nonetheless, was unexplainable and wrong.


**Disclaimer: I do not own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_. All characters and events are a trademark of the creators and of Nickelodeon.**

**Tokka Week Day One- Prompt One: Betrothal**

* * *

This was, by far, the _stupidest_ decision she had _ever_ made and the worst day of her life. Attending someone else's engagement party, and the engagement party of the man she was _still_ in love with nonetheless, was unexplainable and wrong and messed up and, well, just plain crazy.

Toph stood frozen in place as Sokka most likely raised his glass for a toast to Suki. Every word coming out of his lips was unheard by her, the only things running through her mind being that Sokka was leaving her for someone else—someone that annoyed her extremely because she had no reason to be hated other than being the object of her man's affection—and that she would probably never see him again, for he would be too busy taking care of his new wife to remember an old friend.

A loud gasp escaped and ran through the crowd of people sitting around the circular tables in the reception room. For a moment, Toph almost wished that she had been paying attention, just so that she would know what they were murmuring and whispering about, but that moment passed and was replaced with her sudden urgency to leave.

She crossed her arms and glared downward before turning around in a huff. She hiked up her many long skirts and exited the room. She couldn't take it anymore.

--

The dress she was wearing was uncomfortable and even a little itchy, but many people had told her that she looked good in it. They commented about the way that the deep forest green complimented her eyes and about the way that her hair was styled. They commented about how much more mature she looked compared to when they all had last seen her, which was about six years previous. They commented on just about every aspect of her appearance, which aggravated her to the point of no forgiveness because she had no idea what they were talking about.

The main reason she was irritated, though, was not because she didn't know what color her dress was or exactly how her hair was styled or even how her outward appearance could tell what changes there were in her personality, but because all the comments were coming from people whose opinions she in all honestly did _not_ care about.

No, the main reason she had agreed to show up at the gathering in the first place, was the fact that she wanted to see someone in particular.

And that person was to be the soon-to-be-groom.

"You look great!" someone called out. "How _are_ you related to Suki?"

Brushing away the straying clumps of her bangs—though the reasoning to that was beyond her—she wandered around the building aimlessly. Well, not entirely. There was one goal in her entire treasure hunt.

To find the man who was the center of the party and tell him exactly how she felt about him.

It was a precariously risky plan, and it took no real logic to make her realize that it wasn't going to work. Sokka wasn't going to come running back to _her_ when he had a _Suki_ with him. But what else was she supposed to do? She was desperate.

If she wasn't, then would she be at the man's engagement party?

"How've you been? I haven't seen you in for_ever_ and—"

Sighing, she concentrated fully on the patterns of footsteps in the building she was in. Based on her analysis, he was alone in the room a few feet away from her. Also produced from her study was the fact that the building the lovebirds—she had to stop herself from gagging—had chosen was large and very well decorated, with intricate and finely detailed carvings on the walls as well as numerous tables and many, many people.

Trying not to take that as a sign, Toph started toward the room that Sokka was in.

The amount of people who had shown up at this social gathering was horrendously large, and just walking to a door a mere four feet away from her was more of a challenge than anything. Interrupted by two people:

"Hey, Toph," a very light-foot-stepped man greeted cheerfully. She brushed past him easily, nodding her head in acknowledgment of Aang's appearance.

"Toph, you look amazing! Those six years changed you—" It was more complicated for Toph to evade a full conversation with Katara, but she had managed to maneuver through the crowd like she hadn't heard.

Sure, it was rude for her to not talk to her friends, but they were all at the same table during the party and would have time to chat then. Plus, she had more important matters to attend to.

Not bothering to knock, she simply pushed open the door of the room and barged in. It was an open place, after all.

"Toph!"

Never had she been so excited by the sound of a voice. And never had she the need to work so hard to fight a blush. When Sokka dropped the papers he was holding and gathered her up in a loving hug, the grin on her face was so large it almost covered the redness in her cheeks.

"Hey, Sokka," she forced the smile off her face long enough to pull out of his embrace. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Really? 'Cuz if you haven't noticed, I'm a little more muscular compared to the last time you saw me. . . ." His tone was light and joking, and Toph couldn't resist a light punch to his arm when it was down from his 'I have muscles' pose.

It wasn't long before they were talking like their time away from each other had never occurred. Their conversations were just as they had been before everyone had parted their separate ways.

"So. . . ." she strayed away from him long enough to pick up the papers he had once been clutching. "What're these?"

"Oh, that's just my speech." There was a slight pause where Toph gave him a questioning look, and he quickly explained what he meant. "During the dinner tonight, I'll be basically announcing my love for Suki."

"Oh," her voice lost some of its enthusiasm.

"But let's not talk about that," he decided, noticing how she had lost some of her spark. "How've you been? I haven't seen you in what, five years?"

"Six," she corrected instantly, before realizing how weird it sounded to have kept count of their time apart.

Sokka either didn't notice or pretended not to. "You've changed!" he announced, walking in circles around her.

Toph crossed her arms and focused her eyes in the general direction he was in.

"I know!" he snapped his fingers and stopped pacing. "You're taller. You used to be around half of me. Now you're not."

"Gee, I'm finally _not_ half of you. I was waiting for this day my whole life," she said sarcastically.

Ignoring her comment, Sokka added, "You're prettier too." He stared at her strangely.

Her ears twitched at that statement and she spun around in full speed. "What?" she demanded, wondering if she had heard him correctly.

"I. . . I mean. . . ." He rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. "So, what happened when you got back home? We lost contact with each other." His change of subject eased the sudden tension slightly.

Toph gave him a small smile. "I can't exactly write to you can I?"

He pulled her into a hug again. "You're still the same Toph I know and love."

She stiffened in his embrace before tearing away. "I. . . ."

The door burst open and Katara appeared, the impatience evident in her voice. "Sokka, you were supposed to be at dinner ten minutes ago. And, Toph, why were you keeping him here?" She entered and grabbed the girl's arm, dragging her toward the exit. "C'mon. Sokka will follow. _Won't_ you?" she glared pointedly in his direction, and Sokka rushed out of the room.

Toph, angry at Katara for interrupting her confession and for grabbing her by the arm, broke free of her grasp. "_What_?" she snapped.

"Look, I don't have time for this," she buried her face in her hands before looking up. "Just follow me to dinner and we'll continue as if he wasn't late. Okay?"

She sighed dramatically, "Fine."

--

Sokka stood up and cleared his throat, basically declaring it time for the toast. "May I have your attention, please?" Everyone looked up from their plates and dinner, except for the one person who he was directing the next few lines to.

Sighing, he looked around the room. Suki looked ready to cry, but didn't for the sake of the party. Aang and Katara were holding hands and staring at each other lovingly—Sokka had to remember to kill them later—and Zuko and Mai were having a cuddle fest. The Kyoshi warriors, and Ty Lee, who Sokka refused to accept was a part of their group, were glaring at him, and Toph was staring blankly at the flowers in front of him.

"I. . . ." He knew he was being unconventional and that it was wrong of him to do this, but he didn't want to cause any confusion.

"There. . . ." He could sense the impatience escaping Toph, so he knew that his lack of speaking and his constant stalling had to stop.

"Suki and I. . . ." He had to say it some time, even if it wasn't the right time.

"Well, we aren't getting married!" he called out at last. "I. . . I'm in love with someone else."

A startled audience began to murmur amongst each other, curious toward the sudden change in the warrior's heart. Was this all a joke? Surely they hadn't come down there for nothing.

"It just took another meeting with her to make me realize it," Sokka muttered loudly enough for them to hear it. He turned and looked directly at the girl he was referring to. Toph just spun around and left, almost as though she hadn't heard a word of what he had said. "I have to go."

Suki burst into tears at this exact moment and the group was thrown into a frenzy when Sokka ran through the crowd and out the door.

"I knew he'd get cold feet," someone muttered, and the group began to speak up about his abrupt escape.

--

"Toph!"

Experiencing the foreign feeling of d_é_j_à_ vu, she spun around, only to feel herself wrapped in a hug again, which made her even more perplexed than ever. Why had Sokka followed her out into the garden? Didn't he have an engagement party to be at?

"What?" Having not paid attention to Sokka's speech, she had no idea that he had just, publicly, broken up with Suki.

"Didn't you hear me? What I said?" he exclaimed, pulling away from her.

"Yeah. You called my name, I turned around, and you hugged me," she shrugged. "Nothing major. Exact same thing happened an hour ago."

"Oh." Toph could almost feel him pouting. "Except you didn't hear my speech."

"Why would I want to hear you talking mushy junk about Suki?" To prove her point, she stuck out her tongue in disgust.

Understanding that she hadn't listened to him during his toast, he summarized it for her. "Only that I didn't talk mushy junk and just broke off our engagement."

Not knowing what to say, or if she had heard him right, she stared at the ground. "Why?"

"Because. . . Because. . . ." Sokka didn't really know how to explain it. "When I was talking to you, I was reminded of how happy I was when you and I were hanging out before the war. I missed that. I missed you."

"So? You didn't have to break off a marriage just to hang out with me," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her insides burst with joy. _Finally_ Suki was out of the picture.

"The thing is, I did. I'm not in love with Suki, Toph. I'm in love with you," he smiled, watching her reaction.

She seemed frozen in place. Her heart was racing wildly. Sokka had just admitted that he loved her. Was she dreaming? "Wha. . . You. . . That was. . . ." She punched him in the arm. "That was so stupid, Sokka! What made you think I'd love you back?" She had to remind herself to stay calm, that she could be hearing things. She had to remind herself not to just jump into his arms and scream out to the spirits that she loved him. She had to remind herself that she had to remain stoic so he wouldn't suspect that she'd loved him for the longest time.

"Suki told me. When I explained to her before the toast that I couldn't marry her, she said that she knew you and I'd make a great couple," he rubbed the back of his neck. "It took me a while to get what she meant."

Toph didn't say anything.

"So, I'm going to ask this fast, Toph Bei Fong. Will you marry me?"

Screw calm. Screw being stoic. Screw just being 'Toph.' "YES!" she screamed, running into his open arms.

Sokka grinned knowingly and Toph buried her face into her chest. It was the best day of her life.

* * *

**XD Yeah, bad ending, I know. But what _else_ was I supposed to do? P Yes, they're OOC, yes it sucks. I know it's late, too. The story's rushed and messed up and horrible and--UGH! I'm not too happy with it overall, but at least it's Tokka. -huggles the ship-**

**I know this isn't the conventional Tokka-week thing, but this is me writing something. It's supposed to be weirdly annoying. But I tried to write this well. I really did.**

**But whatever. I hope you enjoyed this. It was fun to write when it got to the middle, but the beginning and the end were torture. XD**

**-Sophia**

**P.S. I just finished reading a bunch of ASOUE stuff, so if any of this resembles Lemony Snicket writing, I tried to get it out of there! -runs for cover-**


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